[Trivia] Two routes to London

[Mikey C]

Many of the South Eastern inner London trains loop around to avoid Dartford and come back on a different branch, so from many stations you can go to London in both directions (even if the destination boards don't admit it!)

 

[JamesRowden]

Hastings has two direct routes to London - via Haywards Heath and via Tonbridge. There's also using HS1 to St Pancras via Ashford and a whole myriad of minor variations on those three you can use.

All of the stations from Pevensey and Westham to Ashford International have tickets which allow travel to London via Haywards Heath, Staplehurst, HS1 or Tunbridge Wells (except for Appledore, Ham Street and Ashford tickets not being valid via Tunbridge Wells).

 

[319321]

Rochford, Southend Airport, Prittlewell and Southend Victoria (you can go both directly to London Liverpool Street or make a walking interchange at Southend and go to London Fenchurch Street.

 

[317663]

Would Sutton and Wimbledon Count?
Sutton - St albans via Hackbridge
Sutton to Luton via Wimbledon.

At Wimbledon the service towards Sutton (southbound) continues even though it "terminates".

 

[AndyW33]

Birmingham although it does utilise two stations.

You don't even need to use two stations. Trains can and do leave Birmingham New Street for London either through the south end tunnels and Adderley Park, or through the north end tunnel, the Soho curves, Perry Bar, Aston and rejoining the main route at Stechford. There are diagrammed workings for route retention, engineering diversions, and also ad-hoc diversions in times of disruption.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Bath - via Bristol and via Chippenham - although is a change required for one of them?

 

[duffield]

There are two routes for Derby to St Pancras, one straight down the MML and the other via Melton and Corby (one train per day at 16:36 - not currently running due to Corby to Glendon Junction being closed for double tracking/electrification works)


NB I realize this doesn't fit the original spec - the two routes both leave derby in the *same* direction. But a lot of contributions have widened it to 'any two different route to London' so I threw this in anyhow.

Leicester sort of qualifies because it's not particularly unusual for Sunday trains to head to London Northbound via Corby rather than the normal southbound, but there are no regular scheduled services by this route.

 

[Bevan Price]

St. Helens Central - via Liverpool Lime Street or via Wigan North Western.

St. Helens Junction - via Liverpool Lime Street, Warrington Bank Quay or Manchester Piccadilly (although the latter is possibly not a valid route.)

 

[RichardN]

Is there anywhere in the UK where the direction to London has switched around? An international example of something similar would be Tønsberg in Norway, which is on a loop which was reversed in direction when a new tunnel was built...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0ca13e6ed9f9a3f!8m2!3d59.2675699!4d10.4075608

 

[greaterwest]

Bonus points for Fareham, Portchester and Cosham because they get London trains on both the up and down!

Also 1tpd So'ton to London Bridge, so that's 3 London termini

 

[swt_passenger]

Bonus points for Fareham, Portchester and Cosham because they get London trains on both the up and down!

Bonus points go to me as I mentioned them in the first reply.

This has become a good example of a thread where people are not reading the original poster's question though, as he was explicitly looking for places like these where you can leave in either direction.

The thread title unfortunately doesn't adequately summarise the original question.

 

[transmanche]

Is there anywhere in the UK where the direction to London has switched around?

Newcastle (already mentioned) also meets this criterion.

Originally trains to London headed east and off over the High Level Bridge. The King Edward VII bridge was built later and trains to London now exit from the west end of the station and use this bridge instead - although they can still use the High Level Bridge too.

 

[geo]

Has Southampton Central to London Victoria ever gone via Eastleigh?

 

[swt_passenger]

Has Southampton Central to London Victoria ever gone via Eastleigh?

Yes it has, but I forget the reason. There was a Saturday within the last couple of years when the Brighton and Victoria trains had their paths swapped round at that end of the route, and a few Victoria trains ran via Eastleigh, normally it is the Brightons that go that way.

 

[Kentish Paul]

Also 1tpd So'ton to London Bridge, so that's 3 London termini

Yes but they all depart in the same direction. No train departs Southampton for London heading West.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Huddersfield currently has no service to London, but at various times in the past had services to Kings Cross departing towards Mirfield, services to St. Pancras (Marylebone at one time too?) departing towards Penistone, and services to Euston departing towards Standedge.

 

[Iskra]

Inverness, Perth, Aberdeen, Dundee etc all have VTEC services via the ECML and the sleeper down the WCML.

 

[AlterEgo]

Derby. You can go via Corby on one train a day.

 

[Envy123]

Reading has the FGW service to Paddington and the SWT service to Waterloo.

 

[Kentish Paul]

Reading has the FGW service to Paddington and the SWT service to Waterloo.

But again both depart eastwards. The OP asked about trains departing to London in opposite directions. eg Exeter St Davids.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

For the short time that both Virgin and WSMR services ran, Wrexham General would qualify. VT via Chester and WSMR via Shrewsbury.

 

[AM9]

How about Hainault (LU Central Line) where tains start, going both northwards via Woodford and southwards via Newbury Park.
I suppose the Circle Line doesn't qualify?

 

[Waverley21]

Inverness, Perth, Aberdeen, Dundee etc all have VTEC services via the ECML and the sleeper down the WCML.

But both routes depart from the same end of the station .....

You have to go to Waverley, where the WCML departs from the west end of the station towards Carlisle, and the ECML departs from the east end of the station towards Berwick and Newcastle.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Basingstoke-Reading (XC)
Reading-Waterloo (SWT)
Waterloo-Basingstoke (SWT)

 

[Stewart2887]

Some good answers-I had no idea. I don't count taking a northbound train from Dundee or westbound from Reading. Just asking where you might legitimately take a train to a destination (my example London) going out of departure station in either opposite direction. A very real possibility soon in OIxford

 

[trivran]

How about Hainault (LU Central Line) where tains start, going both northwards via Woodford and southwards via Newbury Park.
I suppose the Circle Line doesn't qualify?

There are almost zero trains from Hainault to Central London via Woodford nowadays, nor to Hainault via Woodford from Central London.

 

[Melancholia]

If only there were still direct services from Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington, then it would make the list. Riverside trains depart NE-bound, Central trains depart W-bound.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If only there were still direct services from Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington, then it would make the list. Riverside trains depart NE-bound, Central trains depart W-bound.

Different stations though. On that basis, Bradford qualifies as VTEC services head North out of Forster Square for Kings Cross while GC services head South-West out of Interchange.

Away from London services, Brighouse has trains to Leeds alternating between the up and down lines.

 

[Busaholic]

Some of us in the SW dream of the day when we have services departing Plymouth in either direction to Paddington, one via Dawlish and the other via Okehampton.

 

[Taunton]

Nottingham Midland. The old direct main line was departing eastwards and down through Melton Mowbray to Kettering and onward. Now services depart to the west and head for Trent before turning southwards.

The situation at Exeter St Davids and Plymouth North Road, where the same pair of GW and SR trains both heading for London could pass one another TWICE while going in opposite directions must be unique though.